Future Leader Dogs, after spending 12 to 15 months with volunteer puppy raisers who instill fundamental good behavior and obedience, return to the Leader Dog campus. Here, formal guide dog training commences, building upon the established foundation to equip these dogs with the specialized skills necessary for guiding individuals with visual impairments. This is a detailed How Guide to dog training.
Guide dog training consists of four phases, each lasting approximately one month and progressively increasing in difficulty. Guide dog mobility instructors operate in teams, with each instructor overseeing a “string” of about eight dogs. These strings encompass a variety of sizes, breeds, and temperaments, ensuring a diverse pool of candidates to match with prospective clients.
Stages of Training: A How-to Guide
Foundations: Building Trust and Reinforcing Basics
During the foundations phase, instructors prioritize establishing and strengthening their bond with each dog. They reinforce skills taught by puppy raisers, including loose-leash walking (maintaining a heel position without pulling), settling calmly, and obedience commands (sit, down, stay, stand, etc.). This reinforces the understanding that learned skills transfer to a new handler and allows instructors to assess each dog’s capabilities and personality. Positive reinforcement through praise and low-calorie treats, like Charlee Bear treats, is used. The dogs are introduced to the guide harness and learn curb work (stopping before crossing streets).
The initial two weeks are spent on campus, followed by practice on quiet streets as the dogs learn basic cues.
A Yellow Lab practices heeling, sits, and downs with a Guide Dog Mobility Instructor (GDMI) during the foundations stage of training.
Basic: Refining Guide Skills in Urban Environments
Basic training builds upon existing skills such as stopping at curbs, maintaining a straight line, avoiding obstacles, making turns, and stopping for traffic. New skills, like locating an empty chair, are also introduced. Instructors transport the dogs to an auxiliary training building in downtown Rochester, serving as a “home base” for training on local streets. The dogs practice in quiet neighborhoods and the busier Main Street area.
Group obedience classes ensure the dogs respond to instructors individually, with added distractions to increase complexity. Veterinary health exams are conducted, and instructors assess progress with a blindfold exam, where the instructor, blindfolded, is guided by the dog through a route in Rochester (with a spotter for safety).
A view of the Leader Dogs for the Blind training facility in Downtown Rochester, used as a home base during basic training.
Intermediate: Expanding Skills to Country and Urban Settings
This phase introduces country travel and work in larger urban areas. With basic skills established, dogs learn to walk on the left side of roads without sidewalks during country travel. Instructors focus on complex guide skills, including recognizing overhead obstacles, traffic responsibility, and intelligent disobedience.
Leader Dogs learn to identify and avoid low-hanging obstacles like tree branches. Traffic responsibility involves slowing down or stopping when a vehicle enters their path. Intelligent disobedience teaches dogs to disregard a command if a hazard, such as an approaching vehicle, is present. Clients often cite instances where intelligent disobedience prevented them from entering dangerous situations.
Dogs intended for Deaf-Blind clients may learn additional skills, such as alerting to sounds like doorbells.
Instructors and the client services team begin “pre-matching” dogs to applicants. Training may vary depending on whether a dog will work in a large city or a rural environment.
A Leader Dog demonstrating traffic responsibility by slowing down for a vehicle during intermediate training.
Advanced: Mastering Complex Environments
Advanced training represents the most challenging phase. Dogs must demonstrate mastery in complex situations involving multiple moving vehicles, busy streets, and difficult obstacles to be ready for client matching. Training takes place in Detroit, providing a high-distraction, complex environment.
During the final week, the dogs transition back to quiet residential areas to prepare for working with their new handlers. Instructors review videos of incoming clients traveling in their home environments to assess the daily travel environment and the client’s walking pace. Matching dogs with clients is the ultimate goal. Approximately 25–30 dogs are ready for clients.
Another health exam and a second, more complex blindfold exam are conducted. Successful completion of this assessment marks the dogs as “class ready.”
A busy street in Detroit is used for advanced training, teaching dogs to navigate complex obstacles and high-traffic environments.
Class: The Beginning of a Partnership
Class begins at the Polk Residence Center on the Leader Dog campus, where clients reside during their training. Instructors spend the first two days on JUNO training, where the instructor simulates the dog’s role, holding the harness and guiding the client. This teaches the commands and mechanics and allows instructors to assess dog-client compatibility.
Dog issue day marks the formal introduction of dogs to their handlers. The dogs are groomed and ready for a good first impression. Introductions are conducted privately in each client’s room, allowing time for bonding.
In the afternoon, the new handler and dog teams take their first walk around the practice course. Instructors provide close support initially, gradually reducing assistance as the team gains confidence. Over the following weeks, they practice in quiet residential areas, progressing to busier environments to solidify skills. Object and location finding is also practiced. Instructors incorporate individual client goals into the training, such as practicing on a college campus for a student.
After three weeks, clients and Leader Dogs return home. Clients introduce their Leader Dogs to their new environment and establish daily routines. The preceding year and a half of training provides the foundation for a person’s independent travel.
A client meets their new Leader Dog for the first time on dog issue day.
The comprehensive training program transforms these dogs into reliable guides, empowering individuals with visual impairments to navigate the world with greater confidence and independence.
You can be part of a dog’s journey to becoming a guide dog – become a puppy raiser today. Interested in getting a Leader Dog of your own? Explore our Guide Dog Training program.
